Tri-Parish Catholic Churches of Dodge County

WASHINGTON - Responding to the appeal that Pope Leo XIV made in his encyclical, Magnifica humanitas to ‘build forms of cooperation’ and cultivate a culture of shared responsibility, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Administrative Committee met today with representatives from a variety of tech firms and specialists in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

The following statement was issued through the Conference spokesperson, Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs:

“The dialogue focused on ways to keep any system of Artificial Intelligence at the service of humanity and the urgent need to address the real and present dangers such technology present. Recent events have only emphasized the great need for action by everyone involved. The bishops expressed hope that such conversations will help to identify ways the Church can contribute to the moral foundation of AI models and steps the companies can take to protect against misuse of their inventions and to guarantee human oversight of the technology. The discussion also focused on how the Church and industry can work together toward the goal of ensuring that technology is used in ways that keep it human-centered, respecting the dignity of each person, and benefiting all -- poor and rich alike.”

Two immediate steps were taken by the Administrative Committee. First is the creation of a Bishops’ Task Force on Preserving Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence with Bishop Oscar Cantù of San Jose as its chairman. The membership of the task force has not yet been determined, but the group will focus on promoting policies and practices that protect human dignity, religious liberty, democratic institutions, workers, families, and vulnerable populations. Second is that at the conclusion of the Administrative Committee, over a dozen of the bishops went to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress urging for the enactment of meaningful safety guardrails on Artificial Intelligence and to support legislation to protect children online. 

The Administrative Committee is led by the president of the Conference and is comprised of the USCCB’s officers, chairmen of the Conference’s standing committees, as well as a representative from each episcopal region of the United States. The committee operates as the board of directors of the Conference.

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WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church in the United States will observe National Migration Week beginning September 21 and culminating with the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on September 27. 

For over 45 years, the U.S. Catholic Church has celebrated National Migration Week (NMW) by reflecting on its history as an immigrant Church and the ways in which the country has been enriched by generations of immigrants, including the many Catholics who have adopted this land as their own. Its connection to the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR)—which traces its origins to 1914 when Pope Saint Pius X called on all Christians to pray for the growing number of migrants at the time—demonstrates the U.S. Church’s solidarity with the Bishop of Rome and the Universal Church. Pope Leo XIV has chosen “Even just one of these children” as the theme for this year’s WDMR, which will also be the theme for NMW. 

In his message for this year’s WDMR, reflecting on Matthew’s Gospel, the Holy Father observed how even one child calls each of us “to open our eyes and heart to a profound listening to his or her story, fears and dreams, overcoming that detachment which reduces the human person to a statistic that does not directly concern us.” At the same time, he underscored the need to safeguard their fundamental rights, among them the rights to life and full development.

Ahead of NMW, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, stated:

“Our Church in this country and beyond has a long, inspiring history of caring for migrant and refugee children—from the days of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini and her sisters sheltering many orphaned immigrant children when few others looked their way to today’s diocesan charities providing them and their families with vital support. We owe much gratitude to the law enforcement officers, social workers, pastoral staff, and caregivers who dedicate themselves to their safety and well-being. As we see protections for this population being undermined in various ways, including prolonged stays in detention and decreased access to legal representation, we urge governments and communities to ensure a high level of care rooted in their God-given human dignity. This requires promoting family unity and reunification whenever possible.” 

Amid heightened social tensions regarding immigration, Catholics across the country are invited to reflect on how our faith is calling us to respond to this most vulnerable group within the context of migration. Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools, and organizations nationwide are encouraged to mark this observance with prayer, educational programs, pastoral outreach, and support for migration-related ministries. 

More information and resources, including details about an upcoming WDMR-themed webinar on September 23, can be found at usccb.org/nmw. 

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a world of increasing technological dependence and polarization, Pope Leo XIV said there is greater urgency for humanity to see itself as a single "human community."

"The perfection of the human person and the development of society must be regarded as closely interdependent: to set them against one another or separate them would be to render them meaningless," the pope said during his Sept. 16 weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

As artificial intelligence opens up new possibilities, it also comes with risks as relationships become more virtual and less personal, Pope Leo said, continuing his series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council's pastoral constitution "Gaudium et Spes."

The constitution highlights human interdependence and the need for mutual respect, he said, and invites people to draw strength from God's plan that all people "constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

That is why, he said, "love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment."

Pope Leo warned that as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into society, there is a risk of people becoming accustomed to "delegating to algorithms decisions that are the sole preserve of the human conscience."

To build a more humane and just world, he said, people must move beyond an "individualistic mindset" and invest in human relationships with substance and depth. Diversity among people and peoples "must not be considered as a danger or a threat, but rather as a resource for enrichment and growth," he said.

"The vision of humanity as a community of persons enables us to work together to seek the common good," the pope said in his remarks to English-speaking pilgrims.

Pope Leo also highlighted the constitution's emphasis on respect for the human person, citing its condemnation of "whatever is opposed to life itself," including murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and willful self-destruction, as well as slavery, prostitution, human trafficking and "disgraceful working conditions" in which people are treated as tools for profit.

"This requires taking into account respect for every person, promoting life and avoiding any form that threatens it; respecting even enemies or those who think differently than us; and respecting the dignity that each person possesses, without discriminating against anyone, which is embodied in social justice," the pope said in his remarks to Spanish-speaking pilgrims.

The Second Vatican Council document also emphasizes the "fundamental equality of all human beings," he said, and calls for every form of discrimination to be overcome.

"For the future of humanity depends on each person's commitment to collaborate with God and with their brothers and sisters in building a more humane world," Pope Leo said.

WASHINGTON - Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Francis I. Malone, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Shreveport. At the same time, he has appointed Most Reverend Robert W. Marshall of Alexandria, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Shreveport to serve until the appointment and installation of the new bishop.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2026, by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States. 

The Diocese of Shreveport is in the State of Louisiana.

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WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Most Reverend Michael A. Saporito, currently Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, as the Bishop of Metuchen.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2026, by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Saporito’s biography may be found here.

The Diocese of Metuchen is comprised of 1,425 square miles in the State of New Jersey. 

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Everyone needs to feel there is room for them in their bishop's heart, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Love the people that the Lord has entrusted to you" and boldly bring the Good News of salvation to everyone, the pope told about 147 bishops from five continents attending a course for bishops ordained in the past year.

"We live in an era of rapid change," the pope told them Sept. 10 in the Vatican Synod Hall. "Advances in communication technologies and artificial intelligence have opened up possibilities," but "they certainly cannot free humanity from sin and its consequences: the crises we are currently facing tragically demonstrate this."

Nonetheless, the Church celebrated the Jubilee of Hope last year, not because she "lives apart from the world" but because "she is sent by Christ, who died and rose again, to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to all," he said.

"We bishops are the first recipients of this mandate," Pope Leo, who, as pope, is also the Bishop of Rome, said, and his encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas" is meant to be "a vision and a method for addressing the great challenge of safeguarding humanity in the age of artificial intelligence."

"I encourage you to promote paths of reflection and dialogue in your dioceses, to form and support those who wish to commit themselves to the service of the civilization of love," he added. 

Pope Leo told the new bishops that their week of meetings and talks with one another and Vatican officials should help them understand that "no bishop walks alone."

"Know that you are in my prayers, along with your churches: the priests, deacons, men and women in consecrated life, seminarians, families, young people, the elderly, the poor, those who suffer, and those who are still waiting to encounter the joy of the Gospel," he said.

"Everyone must find a place in the bishop's heart," he said, because Christ already has a place in his heart for everyone.

Reflecting on the theme of bishops as servants of communion in the Church and in today's world, Pope Leo told them that their most important responsibility is to "remain with Jesus."

"We are bishops, but we are first and foremost disciples. To speak of Him, we need to be with Him; to lead His people, we must allow ourselves to be guided by Him every day, every single day," he said. "Let us never forget this."

Also, the pope said, cherish that time of being with the Lord in the Eucharist, the Word of God, prayer and during any moment "when you can be in His presence with the simple heart of a disciple who allows himself to be loved by his Lord."

"Our ministry springs from there. And when the heart remains close to Him, our service also becomes more serene, more free and more fruitful," Pope Leo said. 

Jesus said the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, the pope said. What that means for a bishop is "to learn more and more each day to love his people: to know their joys and sorrows, to share in their dreams and to rejoice in seeing their communities grow." 

By meeting and ministering to everyone, he said, "you will discover more and more how beautiful the people of God are."

"Learn their names, listen to their stories, visit their homes whenever you can, and pray with them. Especially in young churches, the bishop's presence often speaks volumes, even before his words," he said. "A visit, a blessing, time spent with a priest, listening to a family, a conversation with a young person: these are small gestures, but they can remain in a person's heart for a lifetime."

"Episcopal fatherhood," Pope Leo said, is "having a heart large enough to make room for everyone, carrying one's children within oneself and presenting them to the Lord in prayer every day."

"Our preaching is an act of love, as are listening, prayer, discernment, the time we give to people and our very presence," he said. "It is pastoral charity that allows Christ the Shepherd to reach the people He loves through our humble selves."

"May people feel, through our presence, something of God's tenderness and fatherhood!" the pope said.

"Dear brothers, as you return to your churches, take this certainty with you: the Lord, who has called you, is faithful," Pope Leo said. "He will go before you on the road, accompany you on your journey, and, through the gift of his Holy Spirit, enlighten you every day. And may Mary, Mother of the Church, always watch over you and the people entrusted to your care."

(ROME) CNS -- If Bishop Robert Paul Boxie was selected to become a bishop just because he is Black, he said he is comfortable with that.

"Some people may believe I've been selected, picked, because I'm Black," he said in an interview with Catholic News Service's 'Vatican Access.' "I've thought about this, I’ve reflected on it, and you know what, I'm actually okay with that."

One of the newest bishops Pope Leo XIV appointed in the U.S. said racism remains an undercurrent in the Catholic Church, recounting his own encounters with it in the seminary and calling for greater Black representation in the hierarchy, parish life and the church's understanding of holiness.

Bishop Boxie, who was named auxiliary bishop of Washington, said some critics have labeled him a "DEI bishop," a phrase he dismissed as a "dog whistle" suggesting that a Black person was elevated as part of a diversity, equity and inclusion program at the expense of someone more qualified.

He said his education, formation and ministry should speak for themselves. But while there are many good bishops in the United States, Bishop Boxie said he does not believe the hierarchy has always been sufficiently attentive to the concerns of Black Catholics and the broader Black community.

Black Americans make up more than 15% of the U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau, and Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate determined that 5% of Catholics identify as Black. 

Yet, only five of 268 active U.S. bishops are Black, only two of whom are African American, according to data from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"We need the voice of African American bishops, men in the hierarchy, in the church structure, to be more of an advocate for the Black Catholic community," Bishop Boxie said in the Sept. 7 interview.

Before his ordination in July, Bishop Boxie said a decade had passed since an African American bishop had been ordained in the country.

"Why are there so few?" he said. "The short answer is racism."

Born in 1980, America's youngest bishop was called to the priesthood after graduating from Vanderbilt University and Harvard Law School and working as an attorney in Washington. Even before entering seminary, Bishop Boxie said he carried a strong sense of responsibility as a Black man moving through spaces where few others looked like him.

Oftentimes, as an African American in institutions like prestigious schools, "where you are one of one or one of two or very few of you, you do carry that responsibility of making sure that you do a good job," he said. "I carry with me all of my ancestors beforehand who were denied these opportunities."

Their sacrifices, the Louisiana native said, made his own opportunities possible and left him with "a duty and a responsibility to continue to give back, to make a way for others."

"It is in the background of knowing where I have come from, what I have been given, and also realizing that I have to give back and help make a way for others, just as others have done for me," Bishop Boxie said.

The Church has always proclaimed the need to protect and promote the inherent dignity of the human person, the bishop said, but Catholics have not always been faithful to that teaching.

"When we have turned away from that, or when we have been unfaithful to that teaching and gone astray, then that's when problems such as this, racism, have arisen," he said.

Bishop Boxie also shared with CNS his own experiences of racism, saying rejection and exclusion have "sadly" been part of the Black Catholic experience.

He recalled arriving at seminary and discovering that the seminarian in the room next to his had hung a Confederate flag on the wall. Bishop Boxie said he was "totally taken aback" and refused to enter the room while the flag remained there, even though he was "very social" and others frequented his room. 

He repeatedly spoke with his neighbor in the hallway and challenged him about it, saying to the seminarian and his friends that it was "inappropriate." The seminarian eventually removed the flag and later left the seminary after discerning he no longer wanted to pursue the priesthood.

Years later, during the summer of 2020 and the national reckoning that followed the killing of George Floyd, Bishop Boxie received an unexpected Facebook message from the former seminarian.

By then, the man was working at a Catholic school with many Black and Hispanic students. He told Bishop Boxie that he had come to understand how wrong it had been to display the Confederate flag, particularly in a seminary.

"He wanted to have a conversation, to apologize," the bishop said. "I accepted his apology, and we had a real, honest conversation about race, the Church, and how we can be healers, how we can help bridge these gaps, these disparities, the misunderstanding, all the things that pull us apart, how we can in fact be healers and bridge-builders in the Church."

The Catholic Church in the United States has its own history of involvement with slavery and racial discrimination.

In 1838, Jesuit leaders sold 272 enslaved men, women and children to raise money for Georgetown University, which was then struggling financially. The sale became the subject of renewed public scrutiny after reporting by The New York Times in 2016.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said the racism he encountered while studying at Conception Seminary College in Missouri contributed to his decision to leave. Thomas has recalled hearing a fellow seminarian respond to the 1968 shooting of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, "Good -- I hope the S.O.B. dies."

At an appearance at The Catholic University of America last year, Thomas said that if Catholic leaders at the time had taken a stronger stand against racism, he might have become a priest.

More recent disputes over police brutality and systemic racism have also exposed divisions among U.S. Catholics.

In 2020, EWTN canceled its radio show "Morning Glory" months after co-host Gloria Purvis began speaking extensively about police brutality and systemic racism following Floyd's death and the protests that followed.

Purvis, who is Black, told CNS after the cancellation that Catholics should be turning to their faith when confronting such questions.

"We all are members of the human family. We all have a certain dignity," she said in January 2021. "When you see such brutalization of a human person and the murder of a human person … it should bring questions to us. We should be turning to our faith for answers rather than just letting political talk frame the conversation."

She said she was surprised to hear Catholics dismiss concern about Floyd's death after learning details about his life.

"That is not who we are as believers," Purvis said.

Purvis told CNS in May 2021 that she had no regrets talking about race during her EWTN tenure, which was largely suspected to be the reason for her show's cancellation. 

In the months and years after Floyd's death, Purvis, who is now a special advisor for Integral Human Development and Dignity at Providence College, told OSV News in May 2025 that priests have preached "ahistorical homilies about lynching, about saying that Black people needed to be grateful to white people that lost their lives during the Civil War."

Polling over the last several years has found a pronounced divide between white Catholics and other Americans in how they understand racial inequality.

In a 2018 Public Religion Research Institute survey, 53% of Americans said police killings of Black men were part of a broader pattern in how law enforcement treats Black Americans. Among white Catholics, just 37% held that view.

A similar divide appeared in a 2022 PRRI survey about the lasting effects of slavery and racial discrimination. Just 35% of white Catholics agreed that those historical injustices continue to make it harder for Black Americans to achieve economic mobility. By comparison, 66% of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 68% of Americans belonging to non-Christian religions and 77% of Black Protestants agreed.

Bishop Boxie said he does not know why some racial tensions within the Church have gone unaddressed for so long, but said he looks to the Holy Spirit and expressed gratitude for Pope Leo's apology in his recent encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas" for the church’s historical involvement in slavery.

"It was really earth-shattering," he said. "This is the first time in what, 18 centuries, 19 centuries, that this acknowledgement has been made."

Pope Leo's own heritage depicts the racial tension of American history. He told reporters in July about his familial ties to U.S. slavery when he said his ancestors included both enslaved people and slave owners on his mother's side.

Bishop Boxie said Black Catholics themselves can also do more to address what he called "the elephant in the room," including inconsistencies between politics, government, racism and Catholic social teaching.

He also wants Catholic churches to more visibly reflect the racial diversity of the communion of saints.

"In our churches, we often only see white saints, and I have no problem with that. There's nothing wrong with that," he said. "But that's not the only view or the only image or icon of holiness that we can aspire to."

Bishop Boxie said every U.S. parish should display images of Black saints, particularly the seven Black Catholics being considered for canonization, as a reminder that their witness belongs to the entire church and "because these were Americans who were raised and formed in this country," and whose lives were marked by racism, exclusion and discrimination.

Their example can encourage Black Catholics "to persevere, to not give up, to stay in the church and to help reform it," while reminding white Catholics that "they're part of our Church. They are us."

Conflict and confrontation are not his style, Bishop Boxie said. He is more interested in dialogue and in helping white Catholics recognize that Black Catholics are part of the church, have something distinctive to contribute to its life and worship, and that "you don't have to be afraid of us." 

Following the pope's apology for the Church's involvement in slavery in his encyclical, Bishop Boxie said Pope Leo has given the Church and the world a moment to "tackle it, to talk about it, to not shy away from it."

"He's equaling the playing field for us to take the ball and to move it forward, not only in the Church, but also in our nation, because the terrible things that happened in our country spilled over, unfortunately, into practices in the church as well," he said. "And I think this is really an opportunity for us as Catholics, to lead the way, really for us to lead the way."

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To watch the full interview, click the link below: 

Why So Few Black Catholic Bishops in America?

Bishop Robert Boxie is an auxiliary bishop of Washington and the youngest bishop in the United States. A former lawyer educated at Vanderbilt University and Harvard Law School, he brings both professional experience and a deeply rooted Black Catholic...

WASHINGTON - “As conflicts intensify around the world, let us renew our commitment to be Christ’s instruments of peace in an increasingly fractured and divided world,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a statement marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. 

Archbishop Coakley’s statement follows:  

“As we prayerfully remember the tragedy of September 11, 2001, I invite all Catholics to join me in prayer for the victims taken from us in acts of unjustifiable violence 25 years ago at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in rural Pennsylvania. In a special way, we lovingly embrace in prayer the victims’ families and friends, who still mourn the irretrievable loss of their loved ones on that day. We also remember the first responders and emergency workers, so many who gave their lives in selfless acts of courage. 

“Amid that terrible day and the dark hours of fear and uncertainty that followed, we must also remember that our faith lifted us up and sustained us. As a nation, we found ourselves turning to God in prayer and looking to our faith with a new intensity and a sense of unity. 

“As conflicts intensify around the world, let us renew our commitment to be Christ’s instruments of peace in an increasingly fractured and divided world. The building of peace in our country and around the world -- a mission that enables us to be called children of God¹ -- is the great challenge of our time. Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, tells us that peace is more than just a goal, it is a presence and a journey.² He says that even in places where only rubble remains, and despair seems inevitable, we still find people who have not forgotten peace.

“As we pray for our nation’s continued healing, for the souls of all those lost on that day and the comfort of their families, let us implore the Holy Spirit to conform us, increasingly, into the image of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and together build a civilization of love and universal fraternity.”

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1. Matthew 5
2. Message of the Holy Father for the 59th World Day of Peace 2026

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians can help overcome the many distortions and lies about the true dignity of every human person and, in doing so, promote and defend human life, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Created in God's image, through Christ and for His sake, we have received a unique and indelible dignity. Let us commit ourselves to promoting and defending it always, with the light and strength of the Gospel," he said during his weekly general audience talk in St. Peter's Square Sept. 9.

"This dignity is entrusted to the responsibility of each person: at the same time, it also demands solidarity and mutual care, overcoming the many falsifications and manipulations that still disfigure our perception of it and hinder its realization," he said, continuing his series of talks on documents from the Second Vatican Council.

The first chapter of the conciliar constitution, "Gaudium et Spes," underlined that the foundation and condition for the world's most cherished values are rooted in the inherent and indelible dignity of the human person, Pope Leo said. 

However, throughout history, choices have been made "that have run counter to this dignity" and "all of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil."

"It is sin, above all, that disfigures God's image in the human being," the pope said in his summary to Portuguese speakers.

For example, when the body is reduced to being "an object" that can be "disposed of arbitrarily," that is "always a denial of the dignity of the person," he said in his main catechesis.

Only by recognizing that the human being is both body and soul together and that human dignity has a divine source can humanity "avoid possible distortions" and "address the contradictions, both old and new," he said.

The Catholic Church teaches that human dignity never depends on "a person's abilities, wealth or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of His unfailing love," he said, quoting from his recent encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas."

The infinite dignity of the human being flows from being a child of God, created in His image and likeness, Pope Leo added. 

The human person is made for relationship, communion and participation, the pope said, not isolation. Humanity is called to cultivate a "filial relationship with God the Father and a fraternal relationship with Christ and with all humankind."

"To be a person means to perceive oneself as a gift to be shared, growing and maturing through acceptance, reciprocity and service," he said.

Each person, he said, is "endowed with the gifts of intelligence, for seeking truth; conscience, for recognizing our ultimate calling; and freedom, for choosing the good."

"The Holy Spirit, who gives life in Christ, makes us free and constantly assures us of our dignity as children of God, delivering us from fear and guiding us towards the ultimate goal, that life in  its fullness beyond death which Christ has promised us," he said.

"May we therefore help each other to guard and defend our God-given dignity and journey together toward our heavenly homeland," Pope Leo said in his English summary.

WASHINGTON – A delegation of bishops representing the episcopal conferences of Mexico, Canada, and the United States met this week with a spirit of fraternity, prayer and dialogue. Bishop Daniel E. Flores, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Oscar Cantú, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee for Latin American Affairs were in attendance as delegates. 

The joint communique released after their meeting stated, “During these days, the social, political, economic and ecclesial realities of their respective countries were shared, and some of the main issues that today challenge the Church in the region of North America were addressed: in a particular way, human mobility and the question of migration, the dignity of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, evangelization, and the possibilities of pastoral collaboration among the Churches in Mexico, in the United States and in Canada.”

Read the full communique available in English, Spanish, and French.

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